STEVE FAIRHURST FROM TOTTINGTON BUSTED FOR CHILD SEX OFFENSES IN MANCHESTER

In a disturbing case that has shocked the community of Tottington and the wider Manchester area, Steven Fairhurst, aged 36, was caught engaging in highly inappropriate and illegal online communications with what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. The incident was uncovered by a dedicated group of paedophile hunters who meticulously set up an undercover operation to expose his predatory behavior.

According to court proceedings at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, Fairhurst was under the impression that he was communicating with young girls, some as young as 11 years old, through social media accounts created by the vigilante group. In reality, these accounts were operated by adult women posing as minors to catch predators like Fairhurst in the act.

Rachel Shenton, the prosecutor, detailed how the group had established an undercover social media profile under the alias ‘Jenz,’ claiming to be a 14-year-old girl. It was in October 2018 that Fairhurst first made contact with this fake profile. During their online exchanges, he urged the girl to keep their conversations secret and explicitly asked to see her naked, expressing a desire to touch her genitalia. These disturbing requests marked the beginning of a series of inappropriate communications.

The communication between Fairhurst and the decoy continued over several months, with the predator moving their conversations to WhatsApp. Throughout this period, he persistently made similar requests, demonstrating a clear pattern of grooming behavior. His actions culminated in a confrontation on July 4, 2019, when a male member of the paedophile hunter group contacted police to report that he had detained a male predator. The group had arranged a meeting in Tottington, where Fairhurst believed he was going to meet a girl for sexual purposes.

The confrontation was live-streamed on Facebook, providing authorities with real-time evidence of Fairhurst’s intentions and communications. Screenshots of his messages and interactions were also handed over to police officers for further investigation. Following his arrest, law enforcement seized his mobile phone, which revealed additional disturbing evidence. It was discovered that Fairhurst had engaged in sexual communications with another adult woman through a fake account, pretending to be an 11-year-old girl named ‘Chloe.’

During the court proceedings, Fairhurst’s defense lawyer, Mark Friend, stated that his client was “isolated” and expressed remorse. Fairhurst, who had no prior criminal record, pleaded guilty to 15 counts of attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child and attempting to incite a child into sexual activity.

Judge Tina Langdale, presiding over the case, sentenced Fairhurst to three years in prison. In her remarks, she emphasized that his learning disability was not a mitigating factor in the offenses. The judge highlighted the seriousness of the crimes, noting that the pre-sentence report identified Fairhurst as posing a high risk to young girls. She concluded that only a custodial sentence was appropriate given the gravity of his actions and the potential danger he represented to the community.